When I first saw the headline saying Steve Jobs had died I was shocked, and immediately hoped it was a joke. A really awful joke. I had the same thought as when I can’t find my keys or cell phone, just hoping that someone’s playing a trick on me and they’ll pop out at any moment to make things right. But no, it wasn’t a joke or a prank. Steve Jobs has moved on. Part of this shock was just due to how famous he was, and part of it is because he truly was an inspiration to me.

It’s funny how someone you’ve never met can have such an impact on your life. I’ve thought about it more and more recently due to his retirement and all the articles being published about him, his life, and his accomplishments.

My absolute favorite thing, and a lot of people will agree with me, is his commencement speech given at the 2005 Stanford graduation. The quote I will always remember is, “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” I never thought I’d be one of those post-it note people, but that quote is now stuck next to my bedroom door and it definitely motivates me.

Commencement Video

It’s always a pleasure to read about someone who’s made such a difference. Some articles giving a tad more detail into his life popped up today. Reading them made me reflect on where I’m at in life, and where I want to go. As a game developer I took away 1 key element – that complexity is not always good. Simplistic, usable, and functional design will almost always beat out a complex, difficult-to-use product. This certainly isn’t a new concept, and I’ve made an attempt to use that logic when developing games, but I’m definitely going to pay a bit more attention to it moving forward. If a product is easy to use and functional right off the bat there’s a much higher chance the person using it will continue to do so.

Here are some articles about the life of Steve Jobs. I hope they inspire you as much as they did me. Stay hungry, stay foolish…

SFGate’s coverage

The Steve Jobs I Knew

The Spiritual Side of Steve jobs